It is rather clear that the press has been having a rough go of it regarding the Iran mission from this past weekend. I detailed on my recent podcast many instances of the media outlets unraveling over the bombing that took place, much of it rooted in their assurances that President Trump would never take such action, then scrambling when they realized he took just that. Perhaps having the toughest time has been CNN.
Currently earning negative attention has been Natasha Bertrand, as she was the correspondent who spat out the currently debated report that was based on anonymous sourcing inside the Pentagon detailing a classified document. This has been refuted by many named individuals in the administration, on the record, and there have been corroborating reports from international nuclear agencies.
READ MORE: CNN Hardest Hit: Latest Intelligence Shows Trump Was Right Again About Iran
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been so incensed over the faulty coverage that he called a press conference this morning specifically to deliver a scalding rebuke of the media. It can be debated whether this is a worthy use of his time, but at the same time, he said a few things about the press that were more than valid. Clearly, Hegseth is enraged that internal forces are still in place, working with the press and against the intentions of the DoD.
Natasha Bertrand has shown herself over the years to be a dutiful tool for the activists inside the Pentagon, her career being what it is because she is a willing mynah bird for their talking points. From the Steele dossier and Russian collusion stories, to decrying the Hunter Biden laptop and serving as the initial source of the farcical intelligence letter with 51 operatives calling the computer a Russian psy-op campaign, she is their willful plant in the press. She was the source they used to say that the Chinese spy balloon was no big deal by insisting no real intelligence had been gathered, while at the same time declaring they had no way of knowing what had been gathered. She is simply that inept of a loyal mouthpiece.
In response to the amount of attention Bertrand’s report has garnered, the network was compelled to come out with a statement backing her, stating emphatically that they support her journalism. When you feel the need to make these public pronouncements, you are already losing the debate.
Brian Stelter followed this with his own defense, trying to wrap the flag around his girth and declaring it patriotic to question those in power. This is not what the current reaction to Bertrand’s story has been, an offense at daring to ask questions. Hers was a deeply flawed report, and she was called out for omitting details from the wrongly released classified assessment, such as this being declared a “low confidence” early detailing of the strike. The irony to be found is that as he declared it a brave and noble task to challenge the administration with questions, his own network is squealing that anyone dares to challenge the facts from one of its reporters.
Perhaps the most insufferable lecture came from Jake Tapper. He responded to President Trump’s complaints about the network with a condescending delivery about the duty of the press to ask questions and report the facts. This is just an impossible pill to swallow from the man who is promoting his book at the moment that concerns the way our media complex refused to challenge the Biden administration in this very fashion.
Jake delivering this alleged dressing down is bad enough in the context of his book, which reveals the press avoiding doing the very thing he is demanding. Doing so on his program that has withered since the release of his book makes this stern upbraiding from him all the more neutered.
This network has been generating so many unforced errors in a matter of days. There was Kaitlan Collins disputing the White House claims of a ceasefire, only to be immediately shamed with a breaking report mid-sentence confirming it to be true. Brian Stelter was flummoxed as to why a secret classified mission has not delivered telegenic video clips for the press. Erin Burnett tried to sell the concept that Iranians chanted “death to America” in a warm and friendly manner.
Things are so bad for CNN right now that they should just back down and run Hollywood fluff pieces for a few days until they get their feet back underneath them.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie.
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